The Four Knights and the Elf Queen
by Pernshinigami
Summary: Lyoko needs a champion, and the crew gets it in the form of Gwen Hopper, part human, part monster, with too much spunk for XANA to handle! But the Hopper family hides a dark secret, can Gwen expose the past? SPOILER WARNING!
1. Chapter 1

The Four Knights and the Elf Queen 

By Nyassa Kaiba

It was a typical evening for Aelita Stones. She was contemplating going downstairs to visit the boys. But she had homework to do. Still, she'd been dreaming lately, and that was never a good thing. But unlike her other visions, this one was pleasant.

It was symbolic more than an actual vision. Aelita had a circlet of shining light on her head, dressed in flowing white robes. Four knights knelt before her. In her dream, she couldn't see the knights faces. Not until they pulled off their helmets. First Yumi, then Ulrich, then Odd, and last, but not least Jeremy.

And then two children about her age would appear. Each were dressed in beautiful flowing robes, one, a boy, would be dressed in gold. The other, a girl, dressed in silver. Aelita wished she could see their faces. But all she saw was a blur. But as the two of them stepped forward, Aelita felt as though she'd known them all her life.

The two children stood on either side of the knights, the boy next to Jeremy, the girl next to Yumi, and the two of them bowed before her.

And then Aelita would wake up.

A hard knock on the door broke Aelita out of her ruminations. "Miss Stones a moment?" It was Jim's voice.

Aelita groaned. "I'm coming." She said as she opened the door. She'd been expecting it. A new school policy abolished singles except for students with medical conditions. So far neither she nor Jeremy had gotten a roommate. But Jeremy had figured it was only a matter of time. They had rearranged the furniture the day before, putting in a bed, a closet, and a 2 sets of shelves, one for Aelita, one for whoever her roommate turned out to be.

Aelita opened the door. Sure enough, standing next to Jim was a girl with long, reddish hair dyed pink at the tips and dark, forest green eyes. "Your roommate came tonight." Jim explained. "I've brought one of her boxes and she's hauled up quite a bit of luggage…"

That was the understatement of all time. This girl had three backpacks on her back, a purse and a messenger bag on her shoulders, led a rolling duffel and carried a gym bag. "Um… wow…." Aelita took a nervous step back.

"This is nothing. I once hauled a hundred and fifty pounds." The girl said with a chuckle.

"That's about as much as Jim can lift!" Aelita exclaimed.

"Yeah, well, you get strong fast fencing." Replied the girl as she went over to the empty bed and dropped her bags on it. "I may stink at it, but I'm pretty fast. Set the box on the bed please Mr. Jim."

"Certainly." Jim put the box next to the bags. "Anything else you need?"

"Just the rest of the boxes downstairs." The girl replied as she dug through the box. She carried it over to the shelves. From there she started setting figures on one of the shelves. Aelita came over to look and gasped.

The figures were all XANA monsters. Spider, Hornet, Crab, Block, and Tank. No crawlers, not tarantulas, no Scithozoa. There /was/ a flying manta, which the girl hung by a string from a shelf above.

"Those creatures, where did you get them?" Aelita asked, heart hammering in her chest.

"Oh these?" The girl didn't seem to notice Aelita's nervousness. "My dad made them for me. He says they're grandfa's demons." The girl rolled her eyes. Then she laughed and explained. "There's a story passed down in my family, from my grandfather, to my mother, and now to me and my brother Mikael. According to the legend there was a world called Lyoko. In Lyoko there was a war between an Elf Queen and an evil demon named Xana. The Elf Queen opened the portal from time to time, and every time it did she would choose 4 champions, one for each direction of the compass. If the story is to be believed the Elf Queen's brothers and sisters were sent to this world so that they could be safe, andif my mother's to bebelievedthat's where my mother's side of the family came from." The girl explained. "Also according to the legend, my father was descended from one of the champions. Anyway, its just a legend. But according to the legend Xana had soldiers, called Spiders, Crabs, Blocks, Hornets, Mantas and Tanks. And according to mom that's what they looked like." She pointed to each of the models in turn. "Why have you gone so pale all of a sudden?"

"I need… to get a breath of air…" Aelita's eyes were wild.

"Okay, um, before you go, I didn't get your name."

"Aelita, Aelita Stones."

"I'm Gwen, Gwen Hopper."

Aelita let out a yip, and a "See you later." And went pounding downstairs like Xana's wolves were on her tail.

"JEREMY JEREMY JEREMY JEREMY!" Aelita shrieked "OPEN UP!"

"Aelita? What's wrong?" Jeremy was in his pajamas.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up, but there's somebody else at the school who knows!"

"Knows what?" Jeremy asked. "Aelita this is no night for games."

"Knows about Lyoko!" Aelita hissed in a softer voice.

"You're kidding me!" Jeremy let Aelita in. "What's his name?"

"/Her/ name… is Gwen Hopper!"

Jeremy gasped. "You're kidding me! This is great! We might finally be able to find out who Franz Hopper was!"

"She doesn't know the whole story Jeremy. Her mother told her stories about Lyoko apparently." Aelita replied, and repeated the story about the Elf Queen.

"You realize who she meant by that right?" Jeremy asked. "Who the Elf Queen was?"

"No I don't." Aelita replied. Jeremy called up Aelita's card on his laptop. "Look familiar?"

Aelita froze, then studied her own image. Her ears were pointed like an elf's. Her eyes were slanted like an elf's. "You mean me? I'm the Elf Queen in the story?"

"Yup." Jeremy replied. "Which would make Gwen your…"

"My sister?"

"Niece actually, if you want to get technical." Jeremy replied. "But yes, and that means that her mother is your sister. Which means we might actually be able to find out more about where you came from!" Jeremy reached out to give Aelita a hug. "This is excellent."

"What is?" Odd asked as he and Ulrich entered the room. "And Aelita you wanna shout a little louder? I need my beauty sleep."

Ulrich tweeked Odd in the back of the head.

"Hey! But it's true! You've seen me fall asleep in Miss Hertz' class."

"Don't forget that Miss Hertz is going to be out this year."

"Oh yeah, I forgot, but I never found out why." Odd commented.

"I did a little bit of fishing around. I really know that I shouldn't. But I found out she's got bone cancer. So she's staying out the months it will take for treatment. She'll be lucky if all she loses is her hair. And we don't know if she'll be coming back!" Jeremy was pacing now. "My worry is who they might replace her with."

"I can answer that." Said a voice behind the crowd.

The boy that stood there was about William's height, with ear length red hair dyed black at the tips, as if it had been burned at the end. His eyes were a deep forest green. He did, however, look about Ulrich's age. Behind him stood a woman with long pink hair and the same green eyes as… as Aelita!

"I'm Himiko, Himiko Hopper. I was a professor at Yale sciences, but business brought my husband back here to France for a year or so." Replied the woman. "And this is my son Mikael. My daughter Gwen is busy upstairs. I'll be dropping by to make sure she's getting settled in fine."

Aelita gawked up at Himiko. She looked almost exactly like Aelita, only adult and with long hair pulled back into a tight French braid. Himiko peered down at Aelita. "You look like you've never seen a teacher before."

"Oh no, I'm fine ma'am." Aelita pulled back shyly.

"You know… you remind me of my sister. But she died a long time ago." Himiko said with a sigh. "Well, I need to go." Himiko left.

Aelita gulped. "I… need to go too. We'll explain to you tomorrow. Meet you at the factory."

"What factory?" Asked Mikael suddenly. "I can't come along if that's what you're thinking. My dad said that if I go near the factory I'm a dead man. Said it was haunted by the demon Xana. I just laughed in his face. After all, there's no such thing as a demon." Mikael started unpacking. "What are you staring at?"

"Uh… Jeremy… Aelita… can we talk to you outside for a moment?" Asked Odd, calmly pushing the two of them outside, with Ulrich right behind. Odd calmly closed Jeremy's door and led them to the empty fire shelter. "WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?"

Aelita explained, and Odd interspersed these explanations with… "WHAT?" "YOU"RE KIDDING!" And "MAY BE YOU'RE WHAT?"

Aelita was taken aback. "Basically that's what happened. Only they think that Lyoko is some kind of fairytale."

"Fairy tale or not they're dangerous." Ulrich replied. "What if they find out that Lyoko is real? What if it's a trap from Xana."

"But what if they really are my family?" Aelita asked.

"The story told by Xana when he was masquading as Hopper can be considered true." Jeremy replied. "That much I've been able to deduce from the portions of Hopper's diary that I /have/ deciphered. It's possible that this Franz Hopper could be one of Aelita's relatives, biologically I don't know, legally is more likely. But Himiko bears too much of a resemblance to Aelita for me to believe it's a coincidence."

"I'll go back upstairs. Gwen is probably wondering what's happened to me. Good night all of you. We'll meet Yumi at the soda machines tomorrow morning."


	2. One question answered, Mysteries arise

Four Knights and the Elf Queen 

By Nyassa Kaiba

Note: Smith's Forge isn't a particular MUSH, as far as I know. I needed a name because you're not supposed to mention the actual name of any MUSH in a fanfic.

* * *

Aelita sighed, extricating herself from Gwen had been almost too easy. But when Sissy had peered in that morning, and found Gwen absorbed in a computer program called a Mush that involved an odd black screen, Aelita took that opportunity to slip out the door without Sissy even paying attention to her. 

Aelita, having no idea what Sissy was talking about had slipped out soundlessly.

The others weren't there yet. "Jeremy, do you know about a computer program called a MUSH?" Aelita asked, still puzzled.

"Yeah, it's a type of game." Jeremy shrugged. "Played with text, why?"

"Sissy's on one. She and Gwen were talking about one called… Smith's Forge?"

"Oh yeah, Odd's on that. But with all the effort I put into fighting XANA I don't exactly have time." Jeremy replied.

"What's this I hear about Aelita's family?" Asked Yumi as she and Ulrich came from one direction.

"What's this I hear about Smith's Forge MUSH?" Asked Odd as came from the other.

"Sissy's on it." Jeremy replied. "Aelita's never seen a MUSH. Show her later though. We have news. The new teacher? Her name is Himiko Hopper." Jeremy said with triumph. "And she bears a strong resemblance to Aelita too! She's also got two kids who moved in last night, Gwen and Mikael."

"No way… ?" Odd made a face. "I've RP'd with her, I'm on Smith's forge"

Ulrich rolled his eyes.

"On topic Odd." Ulrich pointed out.

"Oops right." Odd sighs.

"So we might finally have found Aelita's family? That's great. What's Gwen like Aelita?" Yumi asks curiously.

"I think she's what you'd call a bookworm. She has three boxes full of books on her shelf. Um… she's on Smith's Forge MUSH…"

"Along with half of Cadoc Academy." Yumi commented, rolling her eyes. "William's on, Millie's on, Herb is on. It's like a fad or something."

"I didn't realize it was that popular?"

"I didn't realize so many people were on it!" Odd replied.

"Let's see… she's got models of XANA's monsters on her shelves. She likes to blast her stereo a lot. She listens to mostly American music, so my guess is she's American."

"Good guess." Jeremy replied. "Her accent, and Mikael's are both American, New England to be precise. They also don't speak much French."

"First he's a computer expert, then he's a linguist?" Odd asked, rolling his eyes. "And what about their father? You notice they haven't mentioned Gwen's father at all?"

"I assume he's living elsewhere." Jeremy replied. "So, I've finished unencrypting the data we got from our last trip to sector five. And I have an idea on how to deep fry the scithozoa. It won't guarantee that XANA doesn't make another one, but it will take care of the one he's currently using."

"Oh?" The others gathered around as Jeremy opened his laptop.

The scanning program went off. "Ack! A tower this early?" Jeremy demanded.

Suddenly screaming was heard. "A jelly fish!" Somebody screamed.

"Speak of the devil." Odd groaned.

"Well he's been able to materialize crabs, why can't he materialize the scithozoa too?" Yumi asked. "Aelita, you'd better hide. We'll take care of this…"

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! PHOENIX STRIKE!" With a fencing foil in hand Gwen lunged at the scithozoa, carefully ducking around each tentacle.

A couple of tarantulas had come into the courtyard in the meantime, but they couldn't fire or they'd hit the scithozoa instead of Gwen. "Heyla big boys, you chicken? Bwak Bwak!" Gwen replies.

That was when Himiko came in. "Oh no!" She cried. "Gwen! Get back!"

Gwen backs up, slowly, and this was all that the Tarantula's needed to fire on Gwen. Gwen rolled to one side, then to the other, slowly backing up the whole way. She passed a Trashcan in her retreat. "A shield…" She breathed. Then she scooped up the metal lid.

Three shots aimed at her. Gwen blocked shot one, then shot two, then shot three. The first reflected shot hit the tarantula on the right in the chest, the second one knocked some tentacles off the scithozoa, and the third hit the wall of the soda machine booth and sparked before leaving a singed mark.

The Principal showed up just in time to see the retreat of the scithozoa and the two tarantulas. "Ha! I dare you to come back here and /fight/" Gwen shouted. "Hoooo deeeee hoooooooooooooooooo!" She shouted a warcry and shook the trashcan lid at the invaders.

"Principal, I think you should go inside. Evacuate the courtyard. Now where did Gwen go?"

Gwen was tromping through the woods with her 'sword' and 'shield' when the Lyoko crew caught up with her. "It's dangerous Gwen!" Aelita cried, trying to tug Gwen back to the school.

"Shove it." Gwen snapped. "That thing with Lyoko, it wasn't just a fairy tale was it?"

Yumi sighed, then reluctantly said. "No, it isn't. But you don't have the power too…"

"Then that would make you one of the Elf Queen's knights?"

Yumi hesitated. "Um…" Then she said hesitantly. "I suppose so."

"I'm going to take that thing down." Gwen said with a low growl. "It's gotta go."

"Good luck." Jeremy said sarcastically. "It's called a Scithozoa, and we haven't been able to destroy it yet."

"There's always a first time for everythi…"

"LOOK OUT!" Aelita cried as the scithozoa snatched up Gwen. "OH!" Aelita ran over and tried to yank the thing away, but one of the tarantulas blocked the way with a long, spindly cannon. "Don't! Don't do it! It's me you want! Leave her alo…"

Gwen began to glow, then just like that the Scithozoa let Gwen down. It pulled back and the tarantula pushed it's way past the kids and crouched down over Gwen. "Why is it protecting her?" Asked Odd curiously as he tugged at the Tarantula's arm, trying to peer past it and see what shape Gwen was in.

The tarantula pulled a bead on Odd and growled.

"Okay, okay fine, she's yours I won't interfere." Odd said as he pulled back.

Gwen groaned, slowly sitting up. "Whatever freaking idiot did that is going to die an early death."

The tarantula comically peered between his legs at Gwen.

Gwen growled. "XANA."

The tarantula happily clapped its cannons together.

Gwen growled, rolling out from under the tarantula. She came up and growled at it and the scithozoa. "Omae o korosu." She growled again, taking up the foil and falling into a fencing crouch.

The tarantula laughed.

"Are you making fun of me?" She demands.

The monster shook his head and grunted, growled, murmured something.

"I am nobody's little sister idiot, least of all yours."

An amused rumble issued forth, the scithozoa creeled to add something.

"Term of address be darned." Gwen replied to the rumble. "Wait a minute… how come I can understand you?"

The tarantula made chuff, chuff, chuff noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter.

"Oh you can bet I'll see." Gwen growled at it. "Is there any way to figure out why I can hear them?"

"Hear them?" Jeremy froze.

"You mean you can understand what XANA's monsters are saying?" Yumi asked curiously.

"You mean they actually have a brain?" Demanded Odd with a laugh.

The tarantula growled and disappeared, so did the scithozoa.

"Okay, we're taking you to the factory." Jeremy sighed. "I'll bet the scithozoa planted something in you Gwen to make you able to hear the monsters."

"What? That made zero sense to me."

"The scithozoa was created to be able to steal things from people, usually memories, but they've stolen DNA sequences too. It's entirely possible that it planted something in you. A quick trip to the factory and through the scanners there will hopefully tell me what it did." Jeremy replied. "We have a couple hours before school starts. Up for it?"

"Sure…"

"Great! Follow me!" Jeremy led Gwen to the sewers. "Normally we take our skateboards through the tunnels." He explained as he and Ulrich pulled back the grate to the sewers. "But since you don't have one it looks like we're stuck walking."

It took half an hour to get to the factory. By this point the scithozoa was probably long gone. But Jeremie checked the scanners and super calculator room before he went to work. "Okay Gwen, just step in the scanner and I'll check you out."

To Gwen this seemed harmless enough. The scanner closed and Gwen found herself enveloped in bright golden light.

Jeremie's voice cried out, "What? But that's impossible! I didn't do it!"

"What's wrong?" Ulrich's voice came over the scanners.

"XANA must have planted it, there's no other explanation!"

"What is?"

"You know how I have a stat card for each of you on the supercomputer? Well there's one for Gwen here! Almost as if XANA planted it!"

Gwen floated in the oblivion of that golden scanner, listening to the conversation. "Okay now, scanning Gwen."

A tingling sensation ran up Gwen's body, from the tips of her toes to the roots of her hair and the tips of her fingers as she was scanned. Then just as quickly the scanner stopped scanning, and Gwen was once again in that golden oblivion.

"Okay this is even more bizarre! Gwen's DNA is highly irregular. But there's two codons I can identify. One of them comes from the monsters! And approximately 25 percent of her DNA comes from XANA himself!"

"WHAT?" The others shrieked.

"I'M INNOCENT I TELL YOU!" Gwen cried.

"I never said you weren't." Jeremie replied. "But this is bizarre! It's manipulated DNA before, I'm willing to bet that the scithozoa somehow manipulated Gwen's DNA. She's part human, part monster. And that's not all, if she goes to Lyoko, she'll show up to the scanners as a monster!" Jeremie groaned. "This is dangerous. We need to find a way to keep the scithozoa out of the real world, or it could come after Aelita at any time! I have an idea! But I can't do that, decrypt Hopper's notes, and find the antivirus at the same time!"

"Relax Einstein, we'll find out how it got here."

Gwen sighed. "The Tarantula addressed the scithozoa as "sister"." She replied. "It also said that I reeked of Lyoko."

"So the XANA DNA must have been there before hand. And Gwen just wasn't aware of it." Ulrich reasoned.

"It's a series of codons. I can try to figure out what they're supposed to do, but… I mean… I'm good at science but not that good! And this is a total unknown!" Jeremie pounded on the keyboard.

"Gwen I think that's enough for today." Aelita said gently.

"And I think my mother has some answering to do." Gwen replied as the scanner released her.

"Yes, I think Himiko Hopper has some answers to give." Yumi said grimly as they met in the supercalculator room. "Jeremie, what's wrong?"

"This is bizarre! But… I don't know why I didn't realize it before!"

"Jeremie what are you talking about?" Aelita asked, eyes round.

"XANA and Franz Hopper are the same person!" Jeremie cried.


	3. Antivirus ideas and the XANA Codon

The group returned to school in silence. The implications of that morning were grave, not even Odd attempted to make a joke. "I need to talk to mother." Gwen said at last. "I'm not sure how to bring it up with her."

"Then don't." Replied Jeremie. "Somethings are better left unsaid."

"Jeremie…" Aelita said softly. "I… er… I wanted to talk to you… and I hope that you'll accept what I say."

"Aelita I would always accept you." Jeremie replied.

Aelita sighed and pulled Jeremie to the back of the group, out of earshot. "I…" Aelita stammered. "I think I like girls… as well as boys… I mean… oh I don't know what I mean! I'm kinda mixed up…" Aelita sighed. "I still don't totally understand about relationships. I really don't!"

Jeremie turned to look at his friend, and in many ways his girlfriend. "Aelita…" Jeremie reached over to give Aelita a hug. "It's okay! I'm not upset! Really I'm not!"

"And it's not… wrong?" Aelita asked worriedly.

"Not at all!" Jeremie said fervently. "It's just not very common." Jeremie explained. "People who like both genders are bisexual, people who like the same gender are homosexual, and you already know about people who like the other gender."

Aelita nodded, taking this all in. "I shouldn't tell anybody should I?"

"Not unless you /really/ feel comfortable telling them." Jeremie looked up at the morning sky. The sun was slowly rising on the eastern horizon. "It's a secret Aelita, a secret close to your heart, only share it with somebody special, somebody you really trust."

"You mean the way I trust you?"

Jeremie flushed. "Er… something like that…" She can't know, not yet… but I want to trust her so badly!

"Hey! Einsteins!" Called Odd happily. "Let's get going or we'll miss breakfast!"

Jeremie sighed disgustedly, but was secretly glad that Odd had just solved his problem for him. "Coming! Come on!" Jeremie grabbed Aelita's hand and laughing the two of them made it back to the group and came through the gates just in time for everybody to be getting breakfast.

Gwen's mother was waiting for her by the gates. "Gwen…"

"Mother." Gwen replied.

"I wanted to talk to you, about this morning…"

Gwen was suddenly frightened. "Later mom." She said, suddenly shy and ducked behind Yumi.

"Gwen it can't wait forever…" Gwen's mother said, suddenly concerned.

"I'm sorry mom I can't!" Gwen turned and ran into the cafeteria.

"Mrs. Hopper, let us take care of it." Aelita replied and ran with the others back into the cafeteria.

"She knows." Ulrich said simply.

"No." Yumi said simply. "All she knows is that Gwen chased two XANA monsters into the woods and that we followed her. My guess though, is that she was about to tell us the truth."

"Tell Gwen at least." Jeremie replied. Gwen was shaking. "Are you alright Gwen?"

"A little frightened. She was about to tell me the truth, but suddenly I didn't want to hear it."

"Truth about what?" Sissy asked as she came forward.

"Can't you /ever/ keep your nose out of our business Sissy? Or are you so catty that you can't help yourself?" Yumi demanded over a mouthful of bacon.

"Mrow." Odd teased. "Mrow morooooon morooooooon…" He yowled as he mimicked a cat.

The rest of the group laughed.

"HERE!" Sissy pinked and jammed six tickets down on the table. "These are to the anime club's Pizza social tonight. All of you are invited, and I'll expect you to come." She said and flounced off.

"I dunno, sounds fun." Yumi said as she picked up a ticket.

"Yeah, but what if XANA attacks."

"You know what I think? Since today's Friday we party tonight and have an entirely XANA free weekend." Odd suggested.

"Can't happen." Jeremie replied. "For me at least. I have too much to do to not take advantage of a weekend. But I will come to the party."

Aelita sighed. "And I'll probably be helping Jeremie."

"I'm curious about Lyoko. I can't wait to go for the first time." Gwen said happily.

"Once you've been going there everyday for a month I doubt you'll agree." Odd replied with a mouthful of sausage.

"That's for me to decide." Gwen replied, suddenly totally serious.

Aelita smiled a wry smile that was totally out of character for her. But she understood in an instant what the other members of her team did not, that here was a mercurial, whimsical character, who's mood could turn from spunk and lighthearted humor to grave seriousness to passionate fervor in a heartbeat. And for Aelita this was the only person to whom this smile would appear.

"I still say that we should count Aelita as Gwen's closest relative." Jeremie replied. "I'm certain that XANA planted his DNA and the monster DNA in you for a reason." He said, pointing a roll thoughtfully at Gwen. "I think we should call this sequence the XANA codon shall we?" Jeremie asked.

"Um… one question Einstein, what's a Codon?" Asked Odd curiously.

"Picture DNA as a ladder." Jeremie explained. "A Codon is a sequence of three rungs on the ladder. Each codon stands for an amino acid and each amino acid is part of the protein that builds a cell. The term isn't particularly accurate, but even one codon off can have disasterous consequences for the creature or person it's altered in. We still don't know what effect this will have on Gwen. If it's alright with you Aelita and Yumi I'd like to run a scan of your DNA. Aelita yours is the closest thing we can get to a baseline, and Yumi's DNA sequence would provide a control, so that we know what a normal human's DNA is supposed to look like." Jeremie anticipated the others questions.

"You have everything all planned out." Ulrich commented.

"Not quite, in addition to finding the antivirus we now need to find a way to reverse the XANA codon, or if its permanent." Jeremie's brain ground to a halt. "Wait a minute, there's an approach that I forgot to take to the antivirus, something I haven't tried yet!"

"What is it Jeremie?" Aelita asked curiously.

"I forgot to take into account the nature of a virus." Jeremie replied. "Viruses multiply by taking over a cell and using it to make more viruses. They're classified according to the manner in which they multiply. But there are some viruses that don't multiply at all. Their DNA stays dormant in the cell, causing all kinds of nasty effects. If I can do a scan of Aelita, and if this virus changes into a normal virus when Aelita's in the real world, then more research on that type of virus might give me an idea for something to help."

"I'd suggest you start at the CDC's website." Gwen suggested. "I /love/ biology."

"Wait a minute." Ulrich held his hand up to indicate time out. "What's the CDC?"

"Center for Disease Control." Yumi explained, "It's the part of the American Government dedicated to medical research and disease prevention."

"They research everything from better flu vaccines to even more dangerous viruses such as Ebola and HIV. They're bound to have something to help." Gwen explained.

"And what are you all up to?" Jim's massive bulk descended on them. "What's this about American Government?"

"We're discussing topics for a biology paper. Jeremie wanted to do viruses so I suggested he look up the CDC." Gwen replied innocently.

"I see, as long as you six aren't causing trouble." Jim stalked off with his tray, headed for the teacher's dining area.

"Whew…" Gwen sighed in relief. Then she saw her mother outside the window. She just stood there, watching her daughter.

Jeremie was already logging on to the CDC site. "Wow, they do have a lot of information here. Everything from disease classification to outbreak ranges and steps for prevention. Nothing specific though." He sighed. "But there's some classified sections that I can try and break later that might have more info. For now I'm just going over basic biology, to refresh my memory."

"Jeremie… maybe I should go to her… but I was so afraid." Gwen replied softly.

"If you're uncomfortable talking about it then don't force information on yourself that you aren't ready to handle." Yumi told Gwen comfortingly. "Now, we'll be late for class if we don't hurry!"

Gwen turned out to be in her mother's class. And her mother's eyes were slightly bloodshot. She certainly looked tired as she walked in.

"Now children, this year we'll be starting with the history of genetics. My name is Himiko Hopper. Call me Mrs. Hopper or Hopper-sensei if you prefer."

"If I may ma'am, you don't look Japanese in the slightest." Sissy sneered.

"Young lady, I am married to a Sansei, a person of third generation Japanese descent. This does, therefore, make me a sensei." Replied Himiko with calm serenity.

Jeremie sighed and raised his hand. This was going to be a long class. "Ma'am, I'm specifically interested in the genetics of viruses, after class could you recommend some reading?"

"Certainly er…"

"Jeremie." Jeremie replied.

Aelita flashed Jeremie a wink and a whispered, "Thanks."

Class passed and to Jermie's surprise Himiko had an entire genetics library, taking up two whole bookcases in her office. "So, I'm glad that you've befriended my daughter. She needs more friends in her life." Himiko was rapidly stacking books in her arms. "So tell me, what do you think of Lyoko?"

Jeremie almost choked, falling over. "What makes you think…?" He began.

"I followed you to the factory. I used to go to Lyoko as well, but there weren't any monsters then. I know the sewers like the back of my hand." Replied Himiko. "I take it that this research has something to do with XANA?"

"Yes it does, thank you." Jeremie sighed in relief as he took the armload of books from Himiko.

"If you need any more information let me know okay?" Himiko asked. "And Jeremie, take care when you send my daughter through those scanners. Lyoko is hers by birthright."

Jeremie put the books in his room and practically ran down to the arches where the group tended to loiter between classes. Sure enough, there they were. "You guys… Himiko followed us to the factory! And she knew about Lyoko!"

"You're kidding!" Odd exclaimed, with his impish grin.

Ulrich groaned. "The fewer adults interfere with us the better." He said with a sigh.

"What did she say?" Asked Yumi, flicking an eye in Jeremie's direction.

"She asked how I liked Lyoko. And she said that it was Gwen's by birthright and that I'd better take care sending her through the scanners!" Jeremie was almost laughing.

"This is a new situation." Aelita commented. "We've never had an adult around that understood Lyoko the way that Himiko appears to."

"Himiko probably isn't her real name." Yumi commented. "It was the name of the first empress of Japan. There's a story that she could see the future, and used that power to save the country. That's the reason why shrine priestesses are called Miko. And because of the legend Himiko isn't a very common name in Japan." She explained. "It's very likely that she originally had an American or French name and changed her name to Japanese. If you like I can dig up the legend from my father's library. I don't think he'd mind my poking around the old legends in there."

The bell rang before any of the crew could react to Yumi's disclosure. But Jeremie made note of it, and to his surprise, this insight would become very helpful when the time came.


	4. all I could do was

Gwen got out of class to meet Yumi under the arches at the end of the day. "Would you like to come over to my house Gwen?" Yumi asked hopefully. "Since I doubt XANA will activate a tower twice in one day."

"I wouldn't mind."

"I'll warn you though, my dad's a bit picky about my friends." Yumi warned.

They walked towards Yumi's house. It only took about ten minutes to get from Cadoc to Yumi's parents. "Mom, dad, Hiroki! Tadaima!"

"Welcome home Yumi." Yumi's mother said in Japanese. She was sitting at a laptop. "Who's your friend?"

Gwen shyly, slowly interjected in Japanese. "My name is Gwen, Gwen Hopper. My mother's a teacher at Cadoc Academy." Gwen said with a polite bow. "Konbanwa Ishiyama-san." A warm, charming smile suffused her face.

"Aaaaah, Japanese too? Your hair's rather pink for a Nihon-jin." Asked Yumi's mother in Japanese.

Gwen replied, slowly and carefully in Japanese as she had to think about her words and the grammer before speaking. "My father is Sansei, he taught me how to speak it. But he lives off campus."

Yumi's mother made an 'o' "Welcome to our home Gwen. Yumi, is there anything going on after school today? Ulrich called earlier and asked that you get your things and be ready for the party."

"The anime club is having a social tonight. And we wanted to get together before that." Yumi replied. "I was going to dredge up some old costumes for the party. I know I have some old cosplay upstairs somewhere."

"Go ahead then. I take it your friends will be there?" Yumi's mother asked.

"Yes, they will." Yumi replied as Yumi's mother followed them upstairs to the attic.

Gwen looked about her as they walked. The house was decorated as a traditional Japanese home, simple but beautiful.

The attic, however, was an ordinary universal attic. Yumi dug through the boxes up there. "Here… see what you can dig out of these. I know there's some Teen Titans in there, and some Gundam Wing too."

Gwen dug through the box until she found… "ACK! Miroku!" She held up the full sized costume of Miroku. "This would be fun. Do you have anything to bind back my breasts with? I'm a little topheavy."

"Elastic bandages maybe?" Suggested Yumi.

Yumi's mother peered at the costume. "I think I have a corset somewhere that you could borrow. But corsets make it hard to breathe."

"It's worth a shot, and thank you." Gwen sighed.

"How 'bout Ranma? If you're a Takahashi fan." Suggested Yumi.

"You can be Ranma. I'd rather be Miroku." Replied Gwen. "I like Inu-Yasha more than I like Ranma."

"Okay, I'll be…" Yumi dug through the costumes. "oooh! I'd forgotten that I had this." She held up ared schooluniform. "It's not necessarily anime… but it's the same color as Sailor Mars'."

"Cool, go for it." Gwen turned to Yumi's mother, who had come back with an appropriately sized corset.

"Try this on, there's a screen over there." Yumi's mother pointed.

Sure enough, the corset bound down Gwen's chest enough so that she looked sufficiently like a boy. A black haired wig and over her short hair she looked almost exactly like the monk.

"Well, that looks good enough." Yumi's mother dusted off her hands. "There's a staff over there." Gwen walked over to grab it. "There. You're set. And Yumi you look beautiful in that sailor uniform. Who are you supposed to be?"

"Sailor Mars." Replied Yumi as she executed a graceful pirouette. The red skirt billowed slightly. "Whoops, I'm not used to wearing a skirt." Yumi stepped into red slippers and pulled out a tiara from the pile. "My hair's not long enough though." She said with a sigh. "And we don't have any wigs that long."

"Leave it, it's a nice touch." Gwen's body canted slightly to the side as she peered curiously at the costume.

"Should I put on some makeup mom?" Yumi asked, regarding herself in the mirror.

"Makeup doesn't become you dear." Yumi's mother replied. "Just go as yourself."

Gwen finished dressing behind a screen that Yumi had used earlier. "Okay, I'm done." She picked up Miroku's staff and executed a few practice moves with it. "Cool."

Yumi regarded Gwen for a moment. She really wasn't as topheavy as she thought she was. And Gwen was boyish enough so that the corset covered any trace of feminity. "Good job."

Yumi's mother had since left the two girls to their own devices. "Alright, let's head out to the party okay?"

They met very few people on the streets. Until they ran into Samantha. "Hel-lo hunkalicious." Samantha gawked at Gwen. "Yumi? Did you finally dump Ulrich and pick somebody who's actually /interested/ in you?"

Yumi growled.

"I'm a /girl/ stupid. The only reason why I'm dressed as a guy is for a cosplay party tonight at Cadoc Academy!"

"Oh? Cool, I'm going there to meet Odd." Samantha replied. "I'm Samantha, you can call me Sam for short. Man, for a moment there I thought you really were a guy!" Sam shook her head. "I need to get my eyes checked." She said as she rubbed at them. "See you at the party."

"What are you gonna be?" Asked Gwen, walking backwards as she called to Samantha.

Samantha grinned. "I'll give you a hint, she's evil and she has really scary eyebrows!"

Gwen cackled.

Other than that one encounter, they made it back to Cadoc academy without incident. Gwen, unfortunately, seemed to make a very great guy, because almost nobody recognized her. Ulrich even got his jealous look when he saw them together. "Wait a minute, who is this guy?"

Gwen pulled off her wig and winked.

"Wow Gwen we didn't even recognize you." Aelita commented, cocking her head to the side slightly.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Asked Gwen.

"The Elf Queen." Aelita replied, whirling around. Her dress was soft and white, made of some kind of simple, but flowing cotton material. A silver circlet rested lightly on her head and she wore delicate lace gloves. The marks that were normally on her face in Lyoko had been painted on in silver and body glitter had been smeared through her hair.

Jeremie was dressed up too. He wore the startrek uniform of a science officer. And Odd had put ear putty on him so that he looked like a Vulcan. Black pants and boots completed the outfit and made him just a few inches taller than he normally would be.

Ulrich was dressed up as Yoh from Shamen King. Odd even lent him the headphones. A plastic sword and translucent plastic ball served as Yoh's sword and Amidamaru's spirit ball.

Odd had combed his hair down and sprayed it red to become Kurama. He currently had a silk rose in his teeth and was doing ludicrous imitations of a fox. Odd even had Kurama's school uniform on.

William had joined them in the interim. He was dressed as Sasuke from Naruto, he even had his hair down! A pouch that would normally hold Kunai Knives actually held his cellphone. "Hey guys, look who's all dressed up!" Then he noticed Gwen aka Miroku. "Wow, hey, I'm William, what's your name?"

"I'm Gwen. Don't be fooled. I'm really a girl. But I couldn't resist stepping into a man's shoes tonight." Gwen said with a smile. "My mother's subbing for Miss Hertz."

"Oh that's right, she's gone."

"And she may be gone permanently." Sissy replied, coming forward. Sissy had also taken the cross dressing approach. She'd gotten her hands on a copy of the Digimon Emperor's costume, complete with tinted glasses. "I heard that she's taken a turn for the worse. Looks like Gwen may be staying a lot longer than she thought."

"SISSY!" Jeremie growled, getting to his feet. "What would you do if it were /you/ in the hospital?"

That shut Sissy up immediately. Pinking around her costume she growled and stormed away.

"Jeremie…" Aelita gulped. "I'm sure Mrs. Hertz will get better and be back in no time."

Jeremie shook his head. "The cancer's spread. At the very least she'll be retiring." Jeremie sighed. "My favorite teacher out of commission. And why? The why kinda makes you think doesn't it?"

"Everyone grows old sometime." Said Himiko as she joined them.

Himiko was dressed as Jadzia from Deep Space Nine, she'd even painted the spots on her face and neck. "I'm surprised rumors about the teacher's cancer spread so quickly. Yes, it's gotten worse. But Mrs. Hertz was even teaching me when I was a student here. I'm sure she'll be fine. NOW!" Himiko clapped her hands. "Sissy! You have a party to hold."

Sissy got to the crowd in front of the gym and called to them. "Right! Let's get this party started! Show your tickets to Mrs. Hopper at the door and you'll be admitted in."

The line straightened out and eventually the Lyoko crew got in. Jeremie got himself some pizza, some soda, and then he and Aelita took a seat on one of the mats. That was when Samantha, dressed as Dorothy Catalonia from Gundam Wing, finished setting up some simple DJ equipment and, armed with Odd's massive library of music started up some anime/J-pop/J-rock music.

"Yumi…" Gwen whispered. "Let's make everybody jealous, come dance with me!"

And so the two of them danced in the rapidly filling gym. Then Gwen heard it… /ssssseaarch for the boy… he isssssssss next… ssssssssearch for the queen… and dessssssstroy her/ Gwen gulped.

"What is it Gwen?" Yumi asked worriedly.

Gwen pulled back from Yumi's grip and looked around. Freezing cold seemed to envelop her, so cold that she half expected her breath to freeze on the icy wind that billowed around her. "I don't know… I heard monster speech, and then I got so cold…"

"XANA must be nearby!" Yumi cried.

That was when Jeremie's expression turned from bliss to annoyance as his screen flashed. He crooked a finger at the girls. "XANA's activated a tower."

"And that's not all, he's materialized monsters Jeremie. I heard them talking even if I couldn't see them!"

"Which means we can probably look forward too a wrecked scanner." Jeremie groaned.

"What were they saying?" Aelita asked.

"Search for the boy, he's next, and… and search for the queen and destroy her!"

Suddenly laser fire was heard over the music. Gwen groaned, and there was a scream. "MOM!" Mikael cried, rushing forward. "Get back you evil filthy…" Mikael was dressed as Marik from Yugioh, and he used the Millenium Rod model that he had to swipe the roachster who had fired the shot.

The students panicked and ran from the gym, leaving the group there. "Right, Yumi, Odd and Aelita, we'll head for the factory. Gwen and Ulrich, hold off the roachsters!" Jeremie cried as he dashed out.

They had been gone thirty seconds when the scithozoa also appeared. "Oh no." Gwen cried. "You're not getting my brother!" Gwen cried as she quickly put two and two together.

Too late, Mikael screamed as he struggled in the scithozoa's grip.

Gwen's mother groaned in pain before attempting to sit up.

"Mother please stay down." Gwen cried as more roachsters showed up on the scene. "Looks like this is getting to be quite the party."

Himiko lay back and closed her eyes. "Gwen… come here…" She said softly.

"Mother…" Gwen said, equally soft.

"I am… the elf queen… Lyoko, is yours by birthright. Hopper turned evil… he betrayed us and scattered the kingdom… all I could do was…"

And suddenly everything was enveloped in white light.


	5. XANA IS A SHE?

Gwen finished her explanation at the arches that repeated afternoon. "And just before the return in time happened she said…. 'All I could do was…' And then it happened and I never got to find out."

"Then that means that Himiko may know how to defeat XANA!" Jeremie exclaimed, excitedly.

"And that would explain why XANA targeted her." Yumi reasoned. "Because he doesn't want us in contact with her."

Gwen stared, watching the children come and go in the school yard. "So how are we going to change the timeline?" She asked curiously.

"Actually, I had an idea." Aelita's eyes searched out two tiny figures in the school yard. "And I see my idea coming this way now. Jeremie, do you mind giving up your ticket to the social?"

"Not at all, why?"

"Aelita Stones, do you have any comment on the pizza social held by the anime club tonight?" Asked Millie as she came forward. Tamia had a mini camcorder with her and was filming the conversation.

"Well Millie, I was just going to ask you the very same question." Aelita said with a wave for the camera. "You see, Jeremie and I can't come tonight, we have plans, so we were hoping that you and Tamia could cover the social for us and tell us what happens tomorrow? What do you say?" Aelita held out the offered tickets.

"You'd give up your tickets for us?" Millie asked, dropping her "reporter face" and exchanging it for that of an excited little girl. "Thank you Aelita, thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

Aelita found herself the subject of much glompage and snugs and other gestures of elementary school age affection. The tickets were almost snatched from her hand as the two girls bounced up and down.

"You're welcome, but it starts in 2 and a half hours, so you should hurry and find a costume. I have some outfits you can use, doesn't have to be anime. But you two had better primp go on and enjoy yourselves." Aelita said with a kindhearted smile.

"And I'll see if I can get you a costume too." Yumi said with a wink as she caught on. "I know I have a couple of costumes small enough."

"THANK YOU!" Glomp. Yumi's turn for glompage, then the two girls flounced off to their rooms to get primped.

"I'd better find some of my old Halloween costumes for them. What were you going to lend them Aelita?" Yumi asked curiously.

"Well, I'm short enough, I figured I could pin up the elf's robes and it would fit them." Aelita replied. "I've been learning to sew recently, and this would be good practice."

The party was wonderful, even if Jeremie and Aelita couldn't come. The two of them sat up in Jeremie's room. Mikael had left for the party awhile ago. Jeremie stared out the window at the lit gym, the sounds of music and merrymaking.

"Aelita… I've been thinking lately… and…. Remember the conversation we had earlier? I… I think I'm a homosexual." Jeremie stammered slightly.

"Jeremie!" Aelita pulled her friend into a hug. "It's okay! I'm not angry at you! You're my friend! I care about you! Don't be afraid!"

Jeremie had not been expecting quite that reaction. "You're not upset?"

"Have you forgotten what we talked about this morning?" Aelita asked with a soft smile. "We're the same!"

Jeremie stemmed a tear from his eye. "Yes, we're the same."

"So, let's put away our tears. No regrets?" Asked Aelita with a smile.

"None." Jeremie agreed.

The next afternoon the others all gathered at the factory. "Okay Gwen, this will be your first time with Lyoko. So I'm going to send Odd and Ulrich ahead and send you Yumi and Aelita after. Go down to the scanner room and I'll send you there. I sure hope that XANA's profile that he made for you isn't booby trapped. I'm sending you to the Forest Sector, it's the easiest to train in."

"It will be okay." Aelita assured him. "Shall we go?"

Gwen stood in the scanner room. "Transfer Odd, Transfer Ulrich, Scanner Odd, Scanner Ulrich, Virtualization…"

The scanners opened and were empty. Gwen, trembling, entered the scanner.

"Transfer Yumi, transfer Aelita, transfer Gwen…" Gwen felt wind ripple up the tunnel of the scanner, making her hair whip around her. "Scanner Yumi, Scanner Aelita, Scanner Gwen…"

Then there was a flash of that golden light and… "Virtualization!"

Gwen's vision faded to black. The others materialized in the normal fashion. But when Gwen materialized she started surrounded by a ball of silver light. The ball slowly faded to reveal Gwen in a fetal position. A silver XANA mark appeared on her forehead, glowing with almost blinding silver light as she slowly uncoiled and landed gracefully on her feet.

The XANA mark disappeared. Gwen turned to look at her hands. They were covered in the same fingerless black gloves she wore when she was in the real world. She had an almost winglike cape of shimmering black feathers attached to her arms at the wrists and elbows. Bronze metal edged her boots, with almost talon like extrusions on them. She wore a tight black body suit from head to toe with a nasty datchi slung over her back and a red and black glass flute, carved like a phoenix, hung from a loose blood red silk sash. There was blood red edging along the collar, sleeves, and ankles of the body suit.

"Wow Gwen, very dashing." Odd commented, peering at her curiously.

"Yeah, but that XANA mark worries me." Ulrich said with a low growl.

"What XANA mark?" Jeremie asked.

"When Gwen materialized she had a silver XANA mark glowing on her forehead. It's gone now…" Aelita reported.

"How does Gwen show up on the scanners Jeremie?" Asked Yumi, trying to change the subject a little.

"Checking…" Then. "I was right. Gwen shows up as a monster with… now this is odd… XANA gave her 120 lifepoints instead of 100. I wonder why? I mean, Gwen is a threat to him isn't she?"

Aelita groaned. "XANA has reasons for everything he does. And whatever he wants with Gwen can't be good."

Then suddenly… "You guys, you've got company. Two tarantula's and the scithozoa with them are coming from one side. Two crabs and a megatank are coming from the other."

"Okay, Yumi, protect Aelita and Gwen. Odd and I will take care of the monsters right Odd?"

"You got it!" Odd turned to one side.

"I'm not going to stand around and let the two of you have all the fun!"

"But Gwen…" And then the monsters were there.

The crab pointed and hissed something to Gwen. The tarantulas responded in unison with a creel and the scithozoa crooned, crooking a tentacle at Gwen. It took a few seconds for Gwen's ability to keep up with the chatter.

/She is one of us! Crab sensed so/ Said a crab.

/No she is one of them! See? She walks and talks like them/ The tarantula argued.

/The Master sent her a gift! Remember the Master had me edit her data/ Asked the Scithozoa.

/The Master seems to be awefully fond of it./ Pointed out the Megatank.

/What do we do with her/ Asked the other tarantula.

/She is one of us! Crab cannot fight her/ Said the other crab.

An argument ensued among the monsters with the humans caught in the middle.

"Er… what are they doing?" Ulrich asked, looking from one to the other.

"Having a very confusing argument." Replied Gwen with a roll of her eyes.

"What about?" Jeremie wondered.

"I think they're arguing over what they think I am, monster or human. They… er… seem to be very confused… And I swear the crabs keep referring to themselves in the third person. It's… scary… and it? Excuse me Mr. Megatank? I am NOT an it!" Gwen huffed.

"So they came to see what we're up to…" Jeremie said thoughtfully.

The scithozoa creeled and made a move towards Gwen. /Child, I… er… apologize for the confusion… they were all curious…/

/And very confused./ Gwen said in monster speech with a roll of her eyes.

/It speaks/ Cried the megatank. /It speaks our language/

/Crab did not think she could do this…/ Commented one of the crabs.

/Neither… did I…/ Said the tarantula, peering curiously at Gwen. It gave her a gentle poke, then another… poke… poke…

/Can you stop that please? I feel like a fish in a fishmarket./ Gwen rolled her eyes. /Now did you all come here to gawk or did you come here to fight/

/Oh that's right! We were sent to fight/ One of the tarantulas perked up. /We were sent to test your skills Gwen…/ The tarantula explained.

"What did they say?" Ulrich mouthed.

"Here to test me…" Gwen mouthed to him.

"Um… you guys… now would be a good time to get out of there if you can." Jeremie said nervously.

Gwen made the first move. She leapt into the air and unsheathed her datchi. "Butterfly strike!" She growled as she landed on the back of the nearest tarantula and stabbed the XANA mark. The tarantula's scream was like a knife on raw nerves.

Everything exploded into action. The crabs fired Gwen leapt into the air after them, her cape filling with wind and allowing her to glide out of the way. "Wow…"

Yumi sent her fans into the air, the first one chopping the nearest crab right along the back. Ulrich sprinted after the tank and chopped downward viciously at the exposed inside. Too late! The tank fired!

Gwen was on the ground by then, and on instinct she crouched, wrapping her cape around her body and ducking her head under it. The blast hit head on. "WATCH OUT!" Jeremie cried in alarm.

"What are my lifepoints looking like after that blast?" Asked Gwen worriedly.

"That's odd, whatever you did it cut the tank's blast damage in half." Jeremie said curiously. Then, "Watch out Aelita! The scithozoa!"

The scithozoa had taken Aelita into its deadly grip and had commenced draining her memories.

Odd climbed up a nearby tree and… still clinging to it, he shot a laser arrow down on the other tarantula. He missed, once, twice, three times, getting the monster on the 4th. The other crab was destroyed when Gwen grabbed it on one side and flipped up onto its back. "Demonica flamethrower!" She shot pure purple fire at the XANA mark. With a scream the crab exploded beneath Gwen, who landed on her butt.

From his vantage point it was Odd, not Gwen, who shot three of the scithozoa's tentacles off and emptied the last of his clip of arrows into the monster's jellylike body. Aelita dropped to the ground… "We were almost too late. Aelita had 10 units of memory left. You need to get out of there. Training can wait." Jeremie said with both disgust and angst. "Divirtualization, Aelita, Devirtualization Yumi, Devirtualization Gwen…"

Gwen was slowly disappearing. "OH!" She cried as a flash of golden light enveloped her and suddenly Gwen was staggering out of the scanners. A few seconds later the scanner doors closed behind her and revealed Ulrich and Odd. Yumi quickly dragged a still stunned Aelita out of the scanners.

"oooooh…" Aelita groaned. "My head and… oh no… oh no no no…"

"Aelita!" Jeremie cried as he practically leapt from the elevator.

"No no no no no! This can't be happening!" Aelita moaned softly as Yumi cradled her close.

"What's wrong?" Jeremie asked as he knelt by Aelita with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Can't… remember… holes… memory…" Aelita murmured softly. "I… I can't remember you…" She cried softly. "And I so want to…" Aelita burst into tears.

"I'm Jeremie… you… you don't remember me?" Jeremie's eyes were wide.

"No… I don't… I remember the others… I remember Gwen and Yumi and Odd and Ulrich, but not you…"

"Jeremie… I'm sorry… I tried…" Odd said helplessly.

"No…" Jeremie's voice was soft, and at once dangerous and sad. "You tried Odd… It's XANA's fault…" He was trembling in rage. "I… I'll get him back for this… he won't get away with it…"

A black cloud began to ooze from one of the nearby wires. It slowly took form and became a shadowy figure, black from head to toe. The figure changed… it took form… and… everybody gasped.

This figure was dressed like Aelita, but had black hair, menacing red eyes, her clothes were black and white instead of pink and green and the way she carried herself, head held high, was totally unlike Aelita at all!

"Who… who are you?" Jeremie demanded as he recovered his composure.

"I'm mortified! Oh the calamity..." The figure said with a malicious grin on her face. "You mean you don't recognize your old friend XANA?"


	6. Sisters

Note: IF THIS CHAPTER GOES THE WAY I WANT IT TO THERE WILL BE A MASSIVE SPOILER ABOUT XANA'S TRUE IDENTITY AND THE ORIGIN OF AELITA AND THE ORIGIN OF LYOKO! AND YES I SAID A SPOILER I FOUND IT ON THE FRENCH CODE LYOKO SITE, THE OFFICIAL ONE YOU! HAVE! BEEN! WARNED!

* * *

"Excuse me?" Odd asked as he peered at the XANA/elf.

Aelita's eyes went very round.

Ulrich fell into a fighter's crouch. But Jeremie got there first. With a snarl he punched the Aelita/XANA doppelganger in the stomach. The doppelganger went flying backwards. She growled and straightened herself up. "You'll pay for that." Said XANA with a growl.

In about 2 seconds Jeremie found himself flat on his back struggling against Xana and trying to block several very well aimed punches. Ulrich managed to pull Xana off of Jeremie, but not before Xana had fangs, yes fangs bared and snarling at Jeremie.

Then the demon tried a different tack. "Aelita… how are you and Jeremie doing…?" Xana said with a seductive smirk. "Or maybe you prefer a lifemate with a more… Asian flavor?"

"How… how do you… you used my memories…"

"Girl, I don't need your memories, I can read your mind… you and I are connected and that bond will /never/ be broken…" Xana took Aelita's chin in her hand and pulled Aelita close to her with the other hand. It was clear to the others what Xana wanted to do. Jeremie gasped as Xana pulled Aelita into a kiss.

Aelita froze in fear, then her face became a mask of revulsion as she brought a knee into Xana's chest. "Don't touch me! DON'T TOUCH ME!" She screamed, falling on her back and scooting crabstyle backwards until her back touched the wall. Fear, loathing, revulsion crossed her face.

"Xana what do you want with her?" Yumi demanded.

A demented smile crossed the doppelganger's face. "To be human, totally, fully human with my /memories/ intact!" Xana growled. "And she has them! Fah 'Lita, take your memories of your stupid exboyfriend back. I don't want them, I just needed them to give me that one little oomph needed to take this form. Now that I can take it I don't need them." Xana sneered. She tossed a ball of golden light at Aelita. Aelita took the ball and pressed it against her chest.

"/Ex/Boyrfriend?" Asked Yumi as she moved from where she'd stood paralyzed. "Did something happen between you two?"

"None of your business Yumi." Jeremie growled, but the slightest trace of fear crossed his face. "Er…."

"What are you staring at?" Demanded Xana.

"I always thought you were a… guy…"

"Oh really?" Xana asked with a silky smile.

"Er… yeah… I mean… you took the form of Franz Hopper that one time…"

"Bah! Grandfa? That old coot!" Xana sneered. "He's the one who did this to me in the first place. It's his fault! His!" Jeremie saw, for the barest moment, a confused frightened child instead of a demonic monster.

Ulrich obviously didn't see it. "Like we care?" He asked with a growl.

Gwen blinked. "Hopper is your grandfa?" She asked curiously. "He's my grandfather too."

"Duh! Why do you think I let you /into/ Lyoko in the first place! You're my sister idiot!"

Gwen gasped, so did the others. "Sis…sister?" Gwen made a face. "But… how?"

"Don't make me tell you the birds and bees story." Xana sneered.

"I don't mean how! I mean /how/" Gwen demanded. "You're evil!"

"Oh, so you're miss goody two shoes? How lovely." Was the sneer. "Tell me Gwen, didn't you ever think that there could be more than one child per family?" Xana asked, lips curled in a snarl of bitter rage.

"Wait a minute… if you're related to Gwen, and Gwen is related to Aelita… then…" Odd began, then his jaw dropped. "You're lying…"

"Getting warmer…" Xana said with an evil smirk. "Since you're so keen to figure out my background I'll give you a riddle, solve it and you'll solve everything… Darkness and Light, Once whole, once met, Seek to become one, But with the aid of those who love us, Can this tragedy be prevented? And can life be lived again?"

Jeremie thought about it carefully. "Regular sphinx aren't you XANA?" He muttered. "Darkness and light… Xana's obviously the darkness…"

"But then who's the light?" Asked Yumi, casting a nervous glance at Xana.

Xana snickered… "You mean you see her every day and you don't realize… oh how stupid can you be! It should be obvious!" She cackled.

So young… Jeremie thought… And yet she acts so old... "The aid of those who love us… wait a minute… Aelita's the light!"

"Me?" Aelita's eyes went round in fear.

"Once whole?" Yumi moved closer to Aelita, taking the frightened girl comfortingly into her arms.

"Me? NO! NEVER! I WAS NEVER PART OF YOU!" Aelita scrabbled backwards. In the dim light of the scanner room her expression was unreadable. But her voice was filled with terror.

"So close Jeremie… so close that you can taste it… but yes, for all intents and purposes Aelita was a part of me…" Xana said with a smirk. "Or rather… I was part of her…"

"NO!" Aelita gasped, finally bursting into tears.

"Yes… dear child, I am you… and you are me… ying and yang we will do the dance of opposites for all eternity, damned by the parents who claimed to love us… They obviously hadn't heard the phrase 'if you love it, let it go…'" Xana smirked.

Aelita could only stare into Xana's face, a face so much like her own that it was horrible to look upon. "No…" She said suddenly, standing to face her enemy in the face. "I'm not like you… I could have been, a long… long time ago…. But I'm not… and I never will be… and I'm VERY glad of that!"

Xana sneered. "You will become a part of me again! And once you do! I'll finally be human again!" Xana snarled as she disappeared.

"Ouch…" Odd commented.

"Aelita, are you okay?" Yumi asked worriedly.

Aelita had tears in her eyes. "I hate her! I hate her! I could never have been part of her! She's evil and I'm… I'm…"

"Pure good? Aelita it's okay…" Jeremie assured her.

"It's… it's so… I can't wrap my brain around it… she was never part of me…" Aelita kicked the nearest scanner. "I wish I could remember what happened before the supercomputer was turned back on."

"Something tells me you should be careful what you wish for." Odd warned.

They made it back to their separate rooms in silence. Aelita flopped on her back on the bed, rolled over, and cried. Gwen didn't feel very much better. Although she found XANA's nepotism amusing her purpose was not. Gwen got up, walked over to Aelita's bed, sat down, and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

Aelita let out a murmph noise and shook her head, a soft sob reaching her ears. "You know, XANA could have been lying."

Aelita shook her head again. "I know she's not. When… when she kissed me… I sensed that everything she was saying was true. I could see into her mind… probably through the virus. It hurt Gwen… but everything she was saying was true…"

"In an especially warped way." Gwen said bitterly. "Aelita…. Oh if I could take away tonight I would… there are nicer ways to find out the truth…" Gwen lay down next to Aelita and pulled the AI into her arms. "But think of it this way… you gained a sister… me… and a brother… Mikael… nothing can take that away… you've got family now…"

"And that feels even weirder Gwen. Have you ever read the book Ender's Shadow? I feel like Bean… I find my family… but look how different they are from me?" Aelita rolled over, resting her face in the crook of Gwen's chest.

There was a knock on the door. "It's open…"

Jeremie came in. "Aelita are you… oh no… Aelita…" His tone was genuinely sympathetic.

"Go ahead and say it Jeremie… you hate me because I'm related to XANA…" Aelita sobbed.

"I don't hate you Aelita… I could never hate you… it's not where you came from… it's what you do with you life… and you've done more than most people do in ten lifetimes…"

"What's wrong?" Sissy asked, poking her face in. "Oooooh somebody's turned on the waterworks…" She said with an obnoxious smirk.

"Sissy, go away… I can't deal with you right now…" Aelita snarled for the first time in her life. "Just go!"

"What's wrong Mrs. Einstein?" Asked Sissy, still refusing to go away.

"Family problems Sissy go away!" Gwen slammed and locked the door in Sissy's face.

Sissy stood in front of the door, hair bristling and eyes filling with frustrated tears. "I try to ask a girl out and she slams the door in my face… hmph… see if I ever come back to her." And she stalked off.

Gwen heard this from the other side of the door. "Oh brother… me? Sissy wanted to ask /me/ out? Jeremie can you help placate Aelita… I'm going after Sissy."

"Good luck. She's way too temperamental." Jeremie sighed. "And remember that with her you'd be playing with fire."

Jeremie gently detached Aelita from Gwen and pulled her into his arms. Aelita snuggled into roughly the same position she'd been in with Gwen and stayed there, crying.

Gwen strode down the hall after Sissy. She knew exactly where the bully's room was and knocked. "Sissy? Are you there?"

"Gwen?" Sissy's door unlocked. Her eyes were slightly red.

"Sissy, hey… can I come in?"

"Sure…" Sissy sighed. "So, gonna tell me what happened to Mrs. Einstein?"

"Aelita's had a rough couple of days. And then she found out that the two of us are sisters and that she was adopted." Gwen looked out the window. "She's really upset over it… not over me being her sister, but over the fact that she was lied to."

"I wouldn't like being lied to either…. Er… I haven't told anybody… but Principal Delmas adopted me when I was younger… gave me a place to stay… but I was old enough to know that he wasn't my real father." Sissy sighed as she pulled out her laptop and started pecking away at the keys. "Maybe I should write a note to her later saying I'm sorry?"

"Jeremie will console Aelita…"

"Of course… Mr. Einstein."

"You know Sissy, I heard there was going to be a Dragon'sdawn movie coming out… too bad you're too young, you'd make a really good Avril."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"It's a statement."

"I'm not really how I act Gwen. Look at Sissalen. Sissalen allows me to be what I really feel like being…"

"I know… it's easier to be sincere on the internet." Gwen said with a sigh. She was pretending she hadn't heard what Sissy had said earlier.

"Gwen… er… there's a Subsonics concert on Saturday and… I know it's not what you're used to over in America, but would you like to go? As a date?"

Gwen flushed. "You… you…"

Sissy bit her lip. "Yes… I loved you for a long time… before when we met on the MUSH. Then I found out you were my age… and that you were just as beautiful as you play… strong and kind and sweet everything I know I'm not." Sissy had tears coming out of her eyes.

"Okay… I'll go. On one condition…"

"What?"

"That you leave Ulrich alone for as long as we're going out together." Replied Gwen with a smirk.

"Deal…" Sissy blushed shyly. "Can I… can I kiss you?"

"Sure…" Gwen said with a smirk.

Sissy leaned in to kiss Gwen and Gwen kissed back, long and tender.

That was the time that Herb came busting in. "Sissy! Your dad wanted to… eeeeeeek!"

That last was both in reaction to the kiss and to the shoe that Sissy threw at him. "OUT! OUT!" Sissy shouted.

Herb went running in the opposite direction.

"This… is gonna be interesting…" Gwen commented.

"I'd better go after him. See you tomorrow!" Sissy ran from the room and Gwen went back to her room.

Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich had joined Aelita and Jeremie in the meantime.

"And where were you?"

Gwen gulped. "Sissy asked me out… and had a tempertantrum over me being more interested in Aelita than I was in her. Then I told her that Aelita was my sister, and that she'd found out she'd been adopted. Interesting cover story ne?"

Odd cackled in glee. "Sissy asked you OUT? I never knew her tastes swung that way!"

Jeremie growled at Odd.

"I said I'd do it on one condition…"

"What's that?" Yumi asked curiously.

"That she leave Ulrich alone." Gwen said with a laugh.

"So you're actually going out with Sissy?" Odd was still cackling. Then added something in French that Gwen didn't catch.

"Yup, it's official." Gwen replied with a giggle.

"Personally, I think you're crazy… and besides, going out with a girl? That's sexy but…"

"Odd, can you just shut up?" Jeremie snapped.

"What? What?" Odd asked. "I just can't see what anybody would see in the same gender… let alone what they'd see in a different species! And Sissy fits in both categories!"

Jeremie stood, walked the two paces to where Odd was standing and kissed him, on the mouth, long and hard. A squeal escaped Odd's lips as his cheeks turned red. He struggled slightly. Jeremie growled and yanked Odd's head down to kiss him. Odd's face was now the color of a very ripe tomato. And when Jeremie ran his tongue along Odd's lips, the blonde gasped. Jeremie knew that he was ruining any friendship he might have had with Odd, but he was angry that somebody he considered a friend would say those kinds of things.

Finally Jeremie had to pull back for air. "eeep… Jeremie where'd you learn to kiss like that?"

"It's called Fanfiction." Jeremie replied, blushing slightly as he moved backwards and plopped down on Gwen's bed. "And… it's just… sorry Odd, you made me so angry saying that…"

"Jeremie if I'd known that…. Eeeeck I just kissed a guy… and I /liked/ it?" Odd's eyes were round.

"Which is odd considering that you've dated almost every girl in the 8th grade, and even a couple in the ninth I think."

"Lonely heart!" Yumi said with a giggle. "Maybe you two really should try going out together for awhile… er… Aelita that is if you don't…"

"It's okay…" Aelita flushed. "And don't ask who else I'm interested in… you'd be surprised… so what's the cover story you've invented Gwen?"

"That you found out that you're adopted and that we're sisters." Gwen replied. "And that you've been having a really rough week so that finding out was the straw that broke the camel's back."

"Sounds plausible enough." Agreed Jeremie. "What do you say Aelita?"

"Sure… it's better than what I would have come up with." Aelita replied. "Now we just have to find a way for Gwen's mother to find out I'm still alive." Aelita sighed.

"Who?" Gwen's mother tapped on the door. "Oh dear… what's happened to you Aelita?" Asked Himiko.

"Himiko… I found out about XANA… found out that…."

Himiko gasped. "Aelita? My daughter… oh dear…" Himiko gasped. "You're telling me everything… about XANA… about Lyoko… I'm so sorry Aelita… I'm so sorry…" She pulled Aelita into her arms. "It's okay…"


End file.
